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"I've been studying the whole day! When do I finally get to do the fun things? Like...-"
"But my prince, you are carrying a huge responsibility on your shoulders! Also I am afraid your father wouldn't be pleased to know, if I would let you go out there on your own…"
His mentor interrupted the young boy with an almost inaudible sigh; his cold and rough tone just making the words sound even much boring and irritating
"I am not a child anymore! I can take care of myself...really, if you just gave me a chance"
"You may know my prince, this world is made by facts and not suppositions"
"Just a gentle way to say you don't trust me, got it" he thought as he stayed silent and continued his reading.
"Why the angry face? Maybe you can't see how useful these resources are for you right now young Prince, but with time you'll see, culture is extremely important nowadays, these 'annoying' books could save your life one day!"
He couldn't argue with him, indeed it was true, still..."how in the world an algebric equation could save my life??"
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Hours passed as the book he was forced to read got more and more boring, soon his gaze drifted over to the window in front of him.
"There she is again" he let a dreamy sigh come out of his mouth. The girl he saw some weeks ago was the only good reason to come into that old dusty library.
He still didn't know which was her duty, something related with plants and flowers he was sure "perhaps some sort of first lady?" Either way, it didn't matter for him. Her beautiful smile ready to greet everyone who passed by; a girl like that must be kind and pure of heart, at least for his own point of view.
Smiling to himself and lost in his own thoughts, the boy almost didn't notice his mentor standing right next to him.
"Clearly you are not paying attention to your studies anymore. Something else caught your interest I assume?"
The older asked and followed Lloyd's gaze
"Is there anything you felt the need to let it interrupt your reading?"
The mentor kept asking and slowly slid over to the window.
The prince acted fast, jumping from his chair and grabbing both edges of the tends to drew them closer before his mentor could get a clear view on the girl.
"There was nothing! Just trees, clouds and...birds! Birds doing uh strange things, birds are strange I tell you heheh..."
The old man raised an eyebrow suspicious over the boy's sudden reaction and awful excuse, but decides to take his word, for now
"Very well. By the way sir, you should get ready for dinner, I'd suggest to start going"
The teacher finished as he exited from the door leaving the room and Lloyd alone; the young boy took the opportunity and used it to ran towards the window for a last little check on the girl accidentally crossing glances with her. The happy lady greeting him with a sunny smile that makes him almost stumble backwards in surprise...he could swear he heard her laugh. Yet despite his embarrassment, he couldn't stop himself from giving her a smile on return, a genuine (and a little awkward) smile
"Prince? Young sir!"
His mentor's stern voice rang into his ears and with a sigh, he left
"I'm coming!"
Lloyd followed his teacher along the many large corridors of the castle, it was so big sometimes he'd lost himself
"The King and the Queen are busy today so they won't be able to come for dinner time"
He sighed "Again? What is it this time?" His parents were absent almost 24 on 7, he wasn't still sure what they looked like anymore or when was the last time he saw or talked to them, but as the next king of the country he had to get used to it, or at least that's what his teachers said...
"However, you may have some company tonight, our castle knights imformed me that they would be coming earlier today so I hope you don't mind if they dinner with us"
His eyes widened excited to his mentor's words as he looked at him with a hopeful little smile on his face
"Are you serious? Of course not! Bring them to the dinning room I'll be waiting for them, and hurry!"
The young boy left with an enthusiastic air before Clous could even say something
"Finally a thing that goes right in this horrible day"
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The majestic table was laid with any sort of food, just suited for one of his rank. Lloyd sit impatient on the first chair he saw and as soon as he sit the door opened, followed by the steps and voices of five happy knights entering the room, to then bow respectfully before the young prince
"Pf come on guys, no need to be so formal with me"
Lloyd said with a sigh, not wanting to sound too annoyed by it since Clous was there too
"What gave us the honor to spend dinner with his highness?"
Kai asked him in a jokey way getting a look of reproach from his sister
"Kai please! do you think this is the right way to talk to a prince? Show some manners for once"
"I-It's alright Nya!"
Lloyd spoke up
"I can handle his humour, well his awful try at it"
He snickers as the others start to laugh leaving Kai speechless and somewhat annoyed to the comeback.
Before someone can comment further about Kai's sense of humour, the group gets interrumpted by the prince's mentor, who with a clear of his throat starts pointing at the table to clearly indicate that dinner was about to be ready and that it was time to take their sits.
The prince followed by its knights start walking towards the table and sit one next to each other, Lloyd in the middle of them all by royal tradition
"Ugh, I don't understand how Lloyd can stand all this fancy stuff"
Jay whispers to Cole as he sends an awkward-shy look to Claus, just to make sure he wasn't listening
"Heh...I'd go crazy if I was him"
"Well it's not like he has much of a choice, his parents are royals, important people and so is him, he just can't do nothing all day like you"
Cole said followed by one of Jay's indignant "hey!"s and long rant about how much of a useful knight he was...
"...Anyway, I feel bad for him, wish we could do something"
"Wish you could do something about what?"
Nya interrumpted the duo, curious to know what were they talking about
"About Lloyd's situation I mean, wouldn't you feel a little too stressed with all these rules and prince duties?"
"Almost everything is stressing for you, but this time you're right"
The girl replied to Jay's words
"I'd be happy to help him but he doesn't have many possibilities"
A long silence set between the three for some minutes to eventually get broke by Cole's expression
"You know, maybe there's a way after all..."
He suddenly gets interrumpted by Claus and some chefs that get inside the room bringing dinner with them
"But I think it's better if we talk about it after dinn-wait...is that a cake? Hey over here!"